Snow Country Stories Japan

9 Episodes
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By: Snow Country Studios

A bi-weekly podcast for anyone who thinks escaping modern life to live or travel in Japan's legendary snow country is a good idea. Expect stories about life in the snow, mountains and villages, skiing and snowboarding, national parks, buying old houses, fixing old houses, little white trucks, festivals, temples and shrines, artisans, breweries and distilleries, hot springs, food, travel, traditions and myths, old ways and new. Stories told by the people who live here.

Announcement: Season 3 of Snow Country Stories Japan Begins Tuesday 2nd April
03/18/2024

Season 3 of Snow Country Stories Japan begins on Tuesday 2nd April 2024. In the coming season we’ll be exploring the snow country in spring and summer before heading into the beauty of autumn, starting with Japan’s largest national park, Daisetsuzan. Considered by many as the most impressive of Japan's 34 national parks, Daisetsuzan occupies a vast area dominated by volcanic ranges and many peaks of over 2000 metres / 6600 feet, with an abundant alpine flora and fauna and striking beauty from season to season including its deep snow of winter.

Exploration of Daisetsuzan will kick of Season 3 of the pod...


Bonus Episode: Talking Spring in the Snow Country on the Lost Without Japan Podcast
03/04/2024

Snow Country Stories Japan is currently on a break between seasons. I’ll announce the return date as soon as possible. In the meantime, this bonus episode features a clip of my recently published interview on the Lost Without Japan podcast.

Lost Without Japan is a bi-weekly podcast focused on listeners planning their first trip to Japan or for those who are returning, introducing new destinations and experiences to get them off the beaten track. The host of the podcast Mike covers a broad range of topics and talks to people throughout Japan and was kind enough to...


Hakkaisan Brewery: Snow-Aged Sake & Beer from Powder Mountain with Shoko Baba
#24
02/19/2024

In Episode 24 of the podcast I speak with Shoko Baba, a member of the international sales team, of one of the snow country’s most celebrated sake breweries, Hakkaisan. Located in the heavy snow area of Minami-Uonuma, Hakkaisan Brewery produces high quality sake that reflects the pristine surrounding environment and traditions of this beautiful area of Niigata. Shoko and I discuss the heritage and pedigree of Hakkaisan including their celebrated snow-aged ‘Yukimuro’ sake, while also delving into the importance of sake in the culture of Niigata and more broadly, in Japan. We discuss Hakkaisan’s fantastic Rydeen Beer and their wo...


The God Bears of Northern Japan with David Laichtman / Sophia University
#23
02/05/2024

In Episode 23 of the podcast I speak with David Laichtman - a doctoral candidate at Sophia University in Tokyo - about the historical and contemporary practice of bear worship in Japan by cultures including the Matagi in Tohoku and Ainu in Hokkaido. In doing so, this episode draws attention to the often-overlooked fact that Japan is home culturally and ethnically distinct people, many of whom are most identifiable in the snow country. 

This episode includes discussion regarding traditional practices which result in the physical death of bears. We discuss how that occurs including ritualistic aspects of the d...


Finding, Fixing & Furnishing a Home in the Snow Country with Craftsman Gianpaolo Camplese / Nereto Woodwork
#22
01/22/2024

In Episode 22 of the podcast we head north to the small rural village of Nukui in Nagano Prefecture. It is here that we find craftsman and musician Gianpaolo Camplese. Originally from Italy, Gianpaolo moved to the snow country in search for a home for his family, eventually discovering a rundown ‘kominka’ (traditional farmhouse) in the picturesque Nukui. In this episode we speak about Gianpaolo’s journey to the snow country of Japan, why he loves it, where and how he found his home, and the process of buying and fixing it 

Gianpaolo is a woodworker who makes beautif...


The Hidden Histories of Nagano City: A Snow Country Stories Japan Travel Guide
#21
01/08/2024

Episode 21 of the Snow County Stories Japan podcast brings us to Nagano City, the capital of the large, landlocked and mountainous Nagano Prefecture. Host of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, Nagano is blessed with heavy snow and home to fantastic ski resorts, many of Japan’s highest mountains and multiple national parks. As the largest city in the region, Nagano City is the primary transit point for visitors heading to those ski resorts, mountains and national parks with many if not most people passing through enroute to a nearby destination. In this episode of the we’ll head into to Naga...


Hoshino Resorts Nekoma Mountain: Japan's Newest Ski Resort with Snowboarder Ishiuchi Kei
#20
12/25/2023

Episode 20 of the Snow Country Stories Japan takes us back to Aizu in Fukushima Prefecture and Japan’s newest ski resort, Hoshino Resorts Nekoma Mountain. In this episode I speak with Ishiuchi Kei, an accomplished snowboarder with a lot of experience working in the ski industry and genuine enthusiasm for Nekoma and the Aizu region. A true snow guru, Kei speaks about Nekoma Mountain with genuine enthusiasm.

Nekoma Mountain consists of two older resorts – Alts Bandai and Nekoma Snow Park - that have now been connected, making it one of the largest ski resorts in Japan. The reso...


Mithila Museum & The Stone Music of Hasegawa Tokio
#19
12/11/2023

Episode 19 of the podcast takes us into the deep snow country of Tokamachi in Niigata, where we venture into the beautiful, heavily forested hills and minor mountains of that area, and onto the secluded Mithila Museum to speak with its director Hasegawa Tokio. An avant-garde musician and artist, Hasegawa-san founded Mithila Museum in 1982, and today, the museum houses one the world’s major collection of Mithila or Madhubani art while Hasegawa-san remains an active, innovative and legendary musician. We discuss his story, how the museum came to be, his music and of course, his love for life in the sn...


Matsunoyama, Niigata: Challenges & Opportunities of Life in the Deep Snow with Kamimura Shotaro
#18
11/27/2023

Episode 18 of the podcast takes us once again to Niigata Prefecture and the snow country area of Matsunoyama. Famous for its very heavy snowfall, Matsunoyama is a place in many ways defined by that snow. In this episode I speak with Kamimura Shotaro, a regional revitalisation coordinator based in Matsunoyama. Shotaro’s work tasks him with revitalisation of the community and as such, we discuss the multiple challenges being faced by the people of Matsunoyama while also exploring the opportunities of life in the deep snow.

This episode highlights the reality for many communities in the snow co...